Posts by Vanderhoven7

34

Seeking advice

by Mizalisa in

jw
friends

i'm not a jw, nor was i raised jw.

for the past three years i have been involved with a man who was raised jw, who at first told me he no longer believed as they did, but who, it has become clear over time, has not told his family or religious community the truth.

he has strung me along for years, never introduced me to anyone in his life.

Vanderhoven7

Looks like he is between a rock and a hard place. If he reveals to his parents that he is dating a worldling (anyone who is not JW) he will probably end up disfellowshipped, lose family and friends, be shunned by them and kicked out of house and home. So my advice is, don't make this personal.

However If you determine to contiue the secretive relationship till he gets a financial footing, you should find out If he is truly and totally mentally out of Watchtower religion. If he is still mentally in (e.g. still believes non-JWs will be destroyed at Armageddon) i would say run for the hills Gal.

60

Do You Think Trump Should Be Impeached?

by minimus in

jw
friends

some democrats are zealously pushing the impeachment route to get rid of trump.

even if you don’t like him, do you support impeachment proceedings?.

Vanderhoven7

Democrats better keep trying because Trump will win hands down on November 3rd 2020.

9

I think JW's are like a cult

by LevelThePlayingField in

jw
friends

why has the jw's repeatedly mentioned in their magazines and on their website, the child abuse problem with the catholic church but has not mentioned the child abuse problem within their own religion?why are jw's frequently informed about the court cases that are won on behalf of their religion, but rarely informed about the many cases they lost?

why have their religion's leaders never informed the regular jw's about all the child abuse cases they've lost?why have the jw's leaders produced videos and literature talking about all the persecution of jw's in russia, but remain silent regarding the fact that russian is persecuting nearly all christian faiths?my belief is that answers is because they're a cult.

i learned about cults today in school and to me they seem to fit it.tyler (i'm using my uncle's account)

Vanderhoven7

Unfortunately there is no "like" about it.

16

Cringe in December

by neat blue dog in

oh boy, the meetings lined up for december are culty.. it all starts with a 5 minute talk someone has to give on the topic "why should we not be troubled by the increase of memorial partakers in recent years?".

the next week again inserts jws into bible prophecy, first with "the earth swallowed up the river", which claims that court victories for the org are really god's doing.

there is no mention on who is responsible for the many judgements against the org.. then there's this chart to be discussed that same night:.

Vanderhoven7

@NowWhat

Temple cleansing might include the "fact" that Jesus rejected every church on earth in the fall of 1918 but did find one group of anointed leaders channeling truth through the Watchtower ... and subsequently appointed these men in the spring of 1919 to be his Faithful Slave.

Watchtower Fairy Tales pp.187-189

14

Finding our true identity after spiritual abuse in the Watchtower

by Faith after Deception in

i personally find that when you’ve been around toxic people long enough, either in a family environment or as part of a cult or a highly controlling church, (or worse, both!

), you tend to get a very twisted view of your own identity and also human nature in general.. in a religious context, you may end up feeling that you are a “lowly worm” and that in general, people can’t be trusted.

since all you’ve known of relationships has been painful, complex and tiresome, it can give you the impression that this is the norm and that’s all you can expect .

Vanderhoven7

Beautifully said Emily. We are of infinite value and importance in the eyes of God.

49

How to avoid getting disfellowshipped for having a wordly girlfriend?

by cookiemaster in

hey guys, i've been pimo going on full inactive for a very long time, 5+ years.

pretty happy with the current situation.

over the years, i've gotten lots of grief from the local elders and cos for my inactivity, attending wordly public events and social media posts.

Vanderhoven7

It's prophetic.

14

New Covenant in this week's coverage

by waton in

unexplained features: the covenant was with all of "gods people" not just the priests or kings.

the new covenant wt style be made only with the 144 000 king priests and not all members of the "israel of god" ?.

if the new covenant is for the "forgiveness of sin" why is only .01 % of wt members covered by it?

Vanderhoven7

Excellent thread and followup thus far!

6

Have you ever? (Hypnotized)

by Terry in

jw
friends

(hypnotized).

(1978)i had been hypnotized the night before and "woke" in the middle of a job interview the following day.it startled me.. the face of my interviewer twigged as well, witnessing this emergence of a "new" amplitude in my ... well... let's call it "being.".

looking back on this, it's like those devil possession scenes in films when the beast makes itself known.except - i remind you - it was the real me.i'll give you a few seconds to catch up to what i'm reporting to you.. (pause)okay then.... my interviewer registered awareness of this transformation.the sleepwalking terry vanished.seated in the same chair, the refurbished "me" crackled with personality.. my interior was scrambling; playing catch up.

Vanderhoven7

There are dangers when submitting to hypnosis. Sounds like fun, looks like fun to onlookers as you are set up to perform tasks you would never do when aware of your surroundings and in control of your thoughts and faculties.

Had a friend, Brian, in his early twenties hypnotized by the Great Ravine in a theater in Montreal in the 60s. He and I went up on stage to be hypnotised. I wasn't, he was.

Brian soon became a famous pianist performing without a piano, bowing before the audience and the fun went on and on. Before he was awakened and sent back to join us in the audience for the intermission, he was told that when he heard the music at the end of the intermission he would be entranced again and would make his way back to the stage.

We laughed him to scorn wjen he rejoined us and told him what he would do when the intermission ended. He fought it with all he had...and remained in his seat. Afterward he told us that he was an emotional wreck as he fought the urge to go forward. Others of course complied and the fun continued for us...but not for Brian

81

Evolution or Creation Poll

by Vanderhoven7 in

evolution is how we got here.. demonstrate that you believe that all species evolved from a single cell over/within 3.5 billion years by tapping "like" below.. demonstrate that you believe in special creation by tapping "unlike" below..

Vanderhoven7

The more I hear and read about David Berlinski, the more I like him despite his agnosticism.

. Has anyone provided proof of God's inexistence? Not even close. Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close. Have our sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close. Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough. Has rationalism and moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough. Has secularism in the terrible 20th century been a force for good? Not even close, to being close. Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy in the sciences? Close enough. Does anything in the sciences or their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even in the ball park. Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on.

David Berlinski, The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions

81

Evolution or Creation Poll

by Vanderhoven7 in

evolution is how we got here.. demonstrate that you believe that all species evolved from a single cell over/within 3.5 billion years by tapping "like" below.. demonstrate that you believe in special creation by tapping "unlike" below..

Vanderhoven7

<<Vandy with all due respect even my year 8 kids could answer the multiple choice questions posed in the video (the two sitting at the desk). I'm absolutely gobsmacked that adults can hold such an event and think it does anything but make the questioner look foolish.>>

Yes, and the fact that the professor treated some of the questions seriously and attempted to answer them made him look equally foolish.